Lemon-filled cookies have a triple dose of ginger

By BETTY CICHYStaff Writer

Wednesday

Nov 30, 2011 at 12:01 AMNov 30, 2011 at 1:45 AM

These crispy, sophisticated cookies are made with three kinds of ginger — fresh, ground and candied or stem.

Candied (also called crystallized) ginger has been cooked with water and sugar, dried and coated with sugar. Stem ginger has been cooked in a sugar syrup and left in the syrup. Either would do here, but crystallized ginger is easier to find; it's often available in jars in the spice section of the supermarket. (Don't use pickled ginger, which is preserved with vinegar.)

The cool lemon filling nicely complements the ginger flavor. The filling hardens as it sits, so don't make it too far ahead or it will be difficult to spread.

This recipe is from "Rosie's Bakery Chocolate-Packed Jam-Filled Butter-Rich No-Holds-Barred Cookie Book." This classic cookbook (it was published in 1996) features recipes from Rosie's Bakery in Cambridge, Mass.

Author and bakery owner Judy Rosenberg has just come out with a new book, "The Rosie's Bakery All-Butter, Cream-Filled, Sugar-Packed Baking Book." It combines new recipes with the best recipes from her first two books.

The new book has a chapter on sandwich cookies, along with recipes for over-the-top cakes, cupcakes, brownies, tarts and more.

Place the fresh ginger and 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar in a food processor and process for several seconds to break up the ginger strands.

Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cloves and cinnamon into a small bowl and set aside.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter, brown sugar, the remaining 6 tablespoons granulated sugar and the fresh ginger mixture in a medium-sized mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 minute. Stop the mixer once during the process to scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add the molasses and beat for 10 to 15 seconds on medium speed. Scrape the bowl. Then add the egg and beat to incorporate it, 10 seconds.

Add the flour mixture and beat on medium-low speed for 10 seconds. Scrape the bowl, then mix until blended, about 5 seconds more. Then scrape the bowl again.

Add the oats and candied ginger. Blend for several seconds on low speed.

Spread a 13-inch length of waxed paper or plastic wrap on a work surface. Shape one-fourth of the dough into a rough log 9 inches long and 1 inch in diameter along the length of one side of the paper. Roll the log up in the waxed paper and twist the ends like a hard-candy wrapper. Make three more logs with the remaining dough, wrap them and refrigrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Remove the logs from the refrigerator and, with the dough still in the paper, gently roll them back and forth on the work surface to round them.

Chill the logs in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 more hours.

Fifteen minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or grease them lightly with vegetable oil.

Unwrap the logs and cut them into scant ¼-inch slices.

Place the cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets and bake them until they are a deep-golden color and are set but still soft to the touch, 8 to 10 minutes.

Allow the cookies to cool on the sheets for 3 or 4 minutes. Then remove the cookies carefully with a spatula and place them on wire racks to cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling:

Place the confectioners' sugar, corn syrup, melted butter and lemon zest in a small saucepan over low heat and stir constantly with a whisk until the mixture is of pouring consistency, 4 minutes. Add the lemon juice and stir to mix. Cool for 5 minutes.

Turn half the cookies upside down. Drop a teaspoon of the filing onto the center of each bottom half. Then top them with the remaining cookies, pressing down just enough to bring the filling to the edge of the cookie. Allow to set for about 3 hours. (If it's a very hot day, refrigerate the cookies.)

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